“As per the board records, the unit doesn’t have the consent to operate for the new terminal building. The board may direct the unit to apply for consent to operate at the earliest and may also apply penalty for delay in obtaining consent to operate,” GSPCB said in its inspection report.
The pollution board inspected the Dabolim airport after it received a letter on May 30 from panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho‘s office. The minister’s office forwarded a complaint of May 3 from one Jude Joseph Thypo of Assoi Dongri, who had alleged that the Airports Authority of India was discharging sewage in Assoi Dongri nallah.
After getting the complaint, the pollution board representative along with the health officer of urban health centre in Vasco conducted an inspection on June 20. The officials first visited Assoi Dongri nallah adjoining NH 17B and found water flowing into the nallah from the airport side and the surrounding areas littered with solid waste.
“Water sample from the Assoi Dongri nallah (downstream sample) was collected for analysis,” the board said in the report.
The board also observed that the unit has installed flow-meter at the outlet of STP and no flow-meter is installed at the STP inlet. It also observed that the logbooks were maintained at STP but the records were not in proper order so as to ascertain the quantity of water treated daily.
The officials inspected the garbage sorting facility of AAI and it was observed that the sorting shed is inadequate for the quantum of waste generated.
The GSPCB recommended that the board may conduct performance evaluation of the STP at AAI and also increase the capacity of the garbage sorting shed. The report also recommended that the board may direct AAI to monitor noise and ambient air quality levels as directed by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.